Fibrosis is the formation of excess fibrous connective tissue in an organ or tissue in a reparative or reactive process. Fibrosis forms part of the normal wound healing process to facilitate tissue remodeling and scarring. However, upon repeated injury and insult, such as that which occurs in chronic disease, fibrosis can lead to persistent and excessive scarring and, ultimately, organ failure, a common occurrence in all forms of chronic fibrosis. The cells that drive fibrosis are myofibroblasts.
There is currently no unique marker used for identification of MSC and myofibroblasts in fibrotic disease. Identification of MSC and myofibroblasts is typically done with a combination of markers or with markers that are nonspecific, i.e., they have concomitant expression in non-myofibroblasts cell types within the same tissue sample. The ability to identify MSC and myofibroblasts in vivo can facilitate scientific studies for regulating, treatment and management of chronic fibrosis.